Gigantes plaki

Name: Gigantes plaki
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 110 min
Yield: 4 to 6
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 500 g dried butter beans or gigantes, soaked overnight; 3 tbsp olive oil; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 800 g tomatoes, grated, or 2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional); 1/2 tsp dried oregano; 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley; Fine sea salt and black pepper; 500 ml boiling water; Crumbled feta, to serve (optional); Replace the dried beans with a 660 g jar of butter beans, drained, and use only 250 ml water.

Baked Giant Beans in Tomato Sauce

Gigantes means giants, and the beans are big white ones, baked soft in a tomato sauce with olive oil and herbs until the sauce thickens and the tops go slightly crisp. They are eaten warm or at room temperature as a meze, with bread.

The two recipes agree on a base of onion, garlic, tomato purée and tomatoes, oregano and a 180°C oven. One uses a 660 g jar of beans and 800 g of tinned tomatoes and bakes for 25 to 30 minutes; the other starts from 500 g of dried beans, soaked overnight, and 800 g of grated tomatoes, and bakes for an hour covered and 30 minutes uncovered.

Ingredients

500 g dried butter beans or gigantes, soaked overnight
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée
800 g tomatoes, grated, or 2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Fine sea salt and black pepper
500 ml boiling water
Crumbled feta, to serve (optional)

Shortcut

Replace the dried beans with a 660 g jar of butter beans, drained, and use only 250 ml water.

Method

Boil the beans Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh cold water in a large pan and boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer for 30 minutes. Drain.
Make the sauce Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Soften the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée for 1 to 2 minutes, then the tomatoes, cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper, and simmer for 3 minutes.
Combine Stir the beans into the sauce, then tip into an ovenproof dish with the boiling water. Cover tightly with a lid or foil.
Bake Bake covered for 1 hour, then uncover and bake for 30 minutes more, until the beans are completely tender and the sauce is thick. Finish with parsley and feta if using, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Food safety

Dried beans must be soaked and boiled hard before baking.

Season at the end. Salt early can toughen the skins.

They improve overnight in the fridge.

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